Blood of The Willing
by Phantasmz
Summary: Xena's path with the God of War begins at a young age; she just doesn't know it yet.


Blood of The Willing

Chapter One: The Command

A child no older than seven, raced through the village of Amphipolis with great speed. A luminous smile present on her face as she darted in between merchants and vendors. She looked over her shoulder at the young teenage boys who were chasing after her. Her hearty laugh echoed as she enjoyed the thrill of being chased down.

She rounded a corner and raced down a tight alleyway before she arrived in the village square. Men tended to their horses, sheep and cattle. With a mighty jump she leaped over a flock of sheep, startling the old shepherd. The boys raised their voices and hardly could keep up with her great speed.

The long-legged girl soared into the air and used a laundry line to swing over a merchant's cart filled with vegetables and fresh fruits. The marketplace was always filled with vendors early in the morning as the sun rose in the sky earlier this time of year. It was spring and that meant fishermen were out and about to grab the first catch of the year.

A woman beat her rug outside her window on the second floor of her home and then the rug was snatched out of her hands. She leaned over the window sill and snarled.

"_Xena_!" she yelled.

"I'll bring it back, Aritha! I'm just borrowing it!" the girl chattered back with a giggle and continued on her way down the alley.

Xena rolled up the medium sized carpet and tucked it under her arm. She turned to see that two of the boys got lost in the crowd in the market. Now there were only three. She thought that those were pretty good odds, considering she could outrun a group of boys who were at least ten years her senior.

She came to a ramp which was used to roll barrels into a wagon for transportation. She unrolled the rug and increased her speed then threw the rug on the ground and jumped on it. She crouched down and slid across the flat soil and onto the ramp and hurdled over the wagon of barrels.

The boys skid to a stop before they fell into the wagon. Xena waved at the boys and took off into the countryside of Amphipolis. Instead of following her, the boys were reprimanded by the merchants and vendors for destroying their food and supply carts. Not to mention there were dozens of chickens clucking around outside of their pins.

After a very eventful morning, Xena returned to her home. She passed by a group of singing women in the field picking wheat for the spring harvest festival. She smiled at the women and walked around to the horseman who always brushed his steed earlier than the birds could chirp their morning songs.

"Good mornin', Xena," he greeted with a tip of his straw hat.

"And what a great morning it is, Neo! I'm going to ride that horse one day," she says with promise.

He smiles at her determination. She'd been saying the same thing every day for the last three years. Nothing would change her mind.

"Maybe when you're older. You should get home. I hear your mother was lookin' for you."

She shrugs a shoulder. "She's _always_ looking for me. I meant what I said about your horse!" she winked at the horseman and sprinted to her home.

Neo shakes his head.

* * *

Xena opened the door to her large estate and poked her head inside. She made sure the coast was clear and slipped inside then quietly shut the door. She gave a breathy exhale and smiled sneakily. She had gotten away with yet another early morning outing.

"Xena!"

She cringed and spun around to her little blonde brother, Lyceus. He looked very angry with his scrunched face, pout lips and cinched eyebrows. It was hard to take him seriously even when he tried to be serious.

"Where have you been?!" he yells in his high pitched voice. "Mom has been lookin' for you everywhere!"

She ruffled his curly blonde head and walked passed him. Lyceus grunts and fixed his messed up hair and followed his older sister of three years. He wrapped his tiny arms around her thin waist, weighing her down with every step she took.

"_Lyceus_! Get off me!"

She squirmed and pried his arms off her body then walked over to the kitchen. She spotted her mother cleaning dishes and she ducked down and crawled on the floor. Her brother also got down on all fours and crawled behind her, giggling under his breath.

Xena looked behind her at her brown-eyed brother and whispered, "Go away!"

He chortled happily and went onto follow her.

"Come on! You're gonna get me in trouble!"

She crawled forward and bumped into a pair of black boots. Her eyes lift slowly and her elder brother of two years stood with arms folded. His cerulean blue eyes pierced through her little escape plan instantly.

"Mother! I've found her!" Toris calls out.

Xena growls and stood up, meanwhile she glared at Lyceus who seemingly distracted her from her mission to escape from her mother's wrath.

Cyrene, head of household and mother of two well behaved boys and one disobedient daughter, walked over to the kitchen counter. Xena sheepishly smiled at her and waved her hand. It wasn't the first time her daughter had snuck out of the house in the wee hours and it sure wouldn't be the last either.

"Xena, you were supposed to help harvest the wheat this morning. Where did you run off to _this_ time?"

The eager seven year old girl twiddled her thumbs and looked around the kitchen with wandering eyes. It was obvious she didn't have a good excuse and she was trying to come up with something she hadn't used in the last week.

"Well…I…it's fishing season, you know. I was just –just by the fish ponds."

Cyrene closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly to calm herself down. She threw the dish rag on the counter and her daughter flinched. Perhaps she was fearful she'd get whacked again. No, not today, she told herself.

"I don't have time to deal with you and your little adventures today, Xena. Your father is coming home today. I don't want any trouble while he's here."

Xena's big blue eyes lit up. "He's really coming back? Is he going to _stay_ this time?"

Toris sneered at his little sister. "Be happy that he's coming back at all. Don't run off again or you'll be in big trouble with father."

"You're just mad that he likes me more than you."

Cyrene pinched the bridge of her nose. She grew tired of listening to the two bicker with each other constantly. It was a never ending battle with them. And the worst part of it all was that Xena was the instigator most of the time and Toris fed the fire.

* * *

That evening, later than expected, Atrius walked into his home. He eyed his three children sitting on the floor playing a game together. Cyrene remained to be seen and she knew he was coming home today. His children immediately ran to greet him.

A warrior for Amphipolis he had been for over a decade. He fought against neighboring villages and soon the army expanded to the outskirts of Thrace and into Greece the last couple of years. War had been hard on him. His skin once soft was harsh from the sunlight and his blonde hair had lost its sheen.

He was bombarded with questions upon questions from his children. None of which he wanted to answer. Instead of acknowledging them with love and affection as he done in the past, he shoved them aside and marched to the back of the house to find his wife.

Xena frowned sadly at her father's lack of attention. Her brothers were equally surprised. They stood silently and gawked at the hallway in awe.

Lyceus grabbed his sister's arm and tugged on the sleeve of her blouse. "Xena, is father mad at us?"

She half smiled and brought him close. "He's just tired, I guess."

Toris decided to keep their brother occupied while Xena went to inspect where their father went. Of course, it was against Toris' wishes and of course, she went anyway. She walked down the hallway leading to her parents' bedroom.

She halted outside the door when she heard her father yelling at her mother. She inched closer and peered through the sliver of the slightly ajar door. In all her years of knowing her father, which hadn't been many, she'd never seen him yell at her mother. He was more than angry. He was furious. Xena wondered what could be the cause of his rage.

Atrius rammed his blade into the wooden bed post and glared at his petite wife.

"Why do you keep asking me to come back, Cyrene? There is nothing here for me!"

Cyrene placed her hands on her hips. "Your children are considered 'nothing' to you? Is that what I'm hearing? They've been waiting for over a year to see you and you come home like _this_! You've been at war too long, Atrius."

He scoffed haughtily. "I don't even know if all of them are mine."

Her mouth parts and she dropped her arms to her sides. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Atrius couldn't look her in the eye as he did before. Cyrene was shocked to hear something like that come from his lips. He had never doubted the legitimacy of any of their children before. Whatever happened in the last battle must've really damaged his thought process, she wondered.

"Why is that I come home from the battle of Stagira and I find you with a child in your arms."

She rolled her eyes. "I told you, Atrius, you just don't remember! You were with me for one night before you left for Stagira. One night…" she reassured him. "She is your daughter, Atrius. I have no doubt about that. Where is this coming from? I am not someone to be questioned like one of your soldiers."

Xena breathed heavily and backed away from the door and leaned against the wall. She regretted ever coming to eavesdrop on her parents after what she just heard. She put a hand over her racing heart and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the rest of their conversation about her.

Atrius stepped into the hallway and her eyes shot wide open. He furrowed his eyebrows down at her and she gaped at him like a frightened young doe. He looked at her as if he was filled with disgust. He turned and walked off.

Xena clenched her fists against her chest and then silently trailed to her bedroom upstairs with slumped shoulders. Cyrene appeared and saw her daughter ascend up the staircase. She covered her eyes with a palm and wagged her head.

* * *

Outside the family home, Atrius sat in the courtyard by himself. Underneath the evening skies he mutters whispers and inaudible words to the human ear. Cyrene finished cleaning the last bit of dishes long after the children had gone to bed. There, she gazed out the window at her husband who looked to be distressed in some way.

There was something very off about him this visit. His last visit wasn't normal either. His behavior was somewhat erratic and he snapped at Toris several times. Although he maintained his love and affection for both Xena and Lyceus, more so for Xena. She was his favorite until today. Cyrene knew her daughter heard everything Atrius said.

She didn't bother to talk to Xena about it knowing it would upset her or possibly confuse her. She kept a watchful eye on her husband who was waving his hand back and forth. It looked like he was talking to someone in front of him but there was nobody there.

Atrius huffed and stared up at the skies. "What is it that you want me to do?"

He listens and waits.

"Yes…" he whispers. "Yes, I know. I've done everything you've asked of me."

Cyrene folded her arms watching her husband continue on with this strange conversation with an invisible entity.

"I would never dare question you, my lordship." He pauses. "I will do as you say. If that's what must be done, I'll do it."

* * *

That night, Atrius went into the stable and took the scythe that was used to cut wheat stalks in the fields. He made no quiet sounds as he entered the house. His eyes were unfocused, wily, out of this world and almost inhuman-like.

Cyrene awoke to the rustling from within the house. She feared that going to sleep was not the best of ideas since her husband's arrival and after the things he said earlier, she wasn't so sure that she shouldn't sleep with a knife next to her.

She opened the bedroom door and saw Atrius heading upstairs to the children's rooms carrying one of their farming scythes. She quickly opened a chest near the foot of the bed and rummaged for an axe. He gifted this to her several years ago. He said it was needed for protection.

She gripped the axe tightly and made her way up the stairs. She stood at the end of the hallway. There he was. He was standing in front of their daughter's bedroom. Waiting. He was waiting too long. Perhaps he was contemplating. He was going over the way he was to carry out the murder.

Cyrene raised her eyebrow and waited for him to burst into Xena's room but he didn't. He had the some dumbfounded look on his face as he did outside earlier in the evening. He was talking to himself. Whispering, muttering, mumbling, arguing –with himself.

"Atrius."

He whipped his head around and the voices in his head stopped. Everything was quiet.

"Go back to your room, Cyrene."

She took a few steps closer, careful not to startle him. His strength and speed would instantly kill her with a swing of that scythe, she realizes.

"What are you doing?" she asks calmly whilst still approaching cautiously.

His lip quivered and he put a hand to his aching head. "Stop talking!"

"You…you're going to wake up the children. We can go downstairs. We can talk. Together."

He spoke over his shoulder but did not direct his words towards her. "Yes, I'm going to do it."

He hesitates.

"I'm not…I _will_ do it. I will fulfill your command."

Cyrene frowned and pulled the axe closer to her chest. It was obvious he was not in his right mind to think clearly or have a conversation. But he was having a conversation –with someone.

"_Whose_ command will you fulfill, Atrius?" she asks.

"I have to do it," he replies. "She needs to be gotten rid of. I'm given a command. I need to fulfill the God of War's orders."

Her eyes dart to Xena's door and before he could think to enter and murder her daughter she swung the axe with strength she didn't know she had. In the back of his head the axe stuck out like it would on a stump to hack wood.

She backed away and he fell to his knees and collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud.

She knew Xena to be a light sleeper and opened the door but luckily she saw her daughter sound asleep. Morpheus heard her prayers at this very moment.

A quick look at her husband and she could feel the hatred seething from his pores. Blood spilled across the floor boards as he lay lifelessly. She had little concern of what to do with his body or where to put it. She was more concerned for his sudden interest for the God of War.

And it couldn't be so. Could it? Atrius, a follower of Ares?

Surely not.


End file.
